The craziest thing was, I answered the phone and they were, like, ‘Michael?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ And they said, ‘Please hold for the president of the United States.’ And I was, like, ‘OK.’ “

Phelps’ inflection on the word OK suggested a bemused mix of disbelief and amazement.

“So he just got on and he was saying how everyone is supporting me and behind me at home and how proud everybody is of me,” Phelps said. “That was pretty cool. And then he finished by saying, ‘Make sure you tell your mom I said hi.’ “

Ha. “Tell your mom I said hi.” Gold…

…get it? Sigh. And to describe a call from the President as “pretty cool” seems a bit of an understatement, but it’s hardly something worth quibbling over or raises to the level of Phelps deserving criticism for the comment.

But in light of the statement, I wonder how Phelps describes how he once had the chance to get up close and personal for a photo shoot with a bikini-clad Bar Refaeli, something that occurred for the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.

The gorgeous Israeli stunner tweeted the following on Thursday to congratulate Phelps, along with a photo of her, resplendent in a barely-there bikini, posing with the Olympics champ for the shoot: “A little memory of me and a guy who made [email protected] 🙂 congratulations!”

In light of how she was once draped all over the guy, methinks the congratulatory tweet at this point in time was unnecessary. Some guys have all the luck.